Pages

Friday, February 13, 2015

Blind Date with a Book

My local library is running Blind Date with a Book for the first two weeks of February. I've not heard of this before, but a little Googling indicates many libraries participate. My library has a shelf of paper-wrapped books, each tagged with a classification and a quick blurb about the book. You pick a book and promise to devote at least 100 minutes for your date to charm you.

I had a hard time deciding which book I wanted. The librarian tried to convince me to take two, but I was already picking up two books I had on reserve. Lots of reading!
My blind date was Rise and Shine. I just finished it, sprinting through the last 70 pages just so I could say it was done. My date tended to babble: two people meet and the main character spends two or three pages reminiscing of past events before they even say hello. Get on with it! Although a few characters are memorable, I found most of them shallow or uninteresting. The book finally picked up 100 pages from the end, crammed in a few surprise events, and then just stopped.

I stuck past the required 100 minutes, but once I start a book I have to finish it. I've abandoned only two books ever (and one I plan to go back to... it was slow reading and I couldn't finish before I maxed out the renewals). Even though this book was a dud, I'd be willing to try a blind date with a book again. But for now, I get to go back to my reserved books; I'm sure they'll be better company.